Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927): Germany

Reviewed by William Conlin. Viewed on DVD.

Science Fiction is a very timely genre. When a Sci-Fi film is released it has, at most, a couple of years before the genre has changed and the film looks corny or outdated.

However, there are a few Sci-Fi films that transcend the years and leave us in awe, no matter how much the filmmaking process has progressed. Films like Star Wars, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and The Matrix to name a few, are looked at as titans of their respective eras in Sci-Fi filmmaking. Indeed, one of the first major motion pictures ever made was Sci-Fi. George Melies’ Le Voyage Dans La Lune thrilled audiences right at the turn of the century, but for a long period after, the genre didn’t seem to survive.

In 1927, critically acclaimed German director Fritz Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou set out to make an epic fable set a century away from them. Although Metropolis wasn’t a commercial or critical success at the time of it’s release, since then it has become a profound example of how a glorious film can be made no matter what the technology available is.

Set in the year 2026, the citizens of Joh Fredersen’s (Alfred Abel) Metropolis are divided into two divisions, workers who toil underground and intellectuals who live in luxurious skyscrapers above ground. Joh controls every aspect of the city and is prone to firing people for their incompetence. It seems the only thing Joh cares about outside of his work is his son Freder (Gustav Fröhlich). One day, Freder ventures into the underground world of Metropolis. After witnessing a terrifying industrial accident, he falls in love with a beautiful young evangelist named Maria (Brigitte Helm). Maria appears to be the only force stopping the workers from revolting but when Joh discovers her, he decides to eliminate her. With the help of an ex-advisor turned mad scientist (Rudolf Klein-Rogge), a robot is created with her likeness and the city falls into panic. With a mob of workers destroying the city’s foundation, Freder is the only person who can stop the violence and unite the “hands and the heads” of Metropolis.

The first thing that must be looked at with Metropolis is the incredible use of special effects. Designer Eugen Schüfftan’s miniatures have a quality that surpasses films made well into the 1970’s. By using the Schüfftan process (named after him), live action was easily blended into the matte paintings and miniatures. One of my favorite scenes in the film is when the worker’s elevator first comes upon the underground city. Additionally, the still-unnerving design of the “Machine Man” is one of the first examples of robots on film and the laboratory set where it was created became a standard for the genre (even inspiring the set for Frankenstein).

There is no complete print of Metropolis known to be left in existence. In 2002, Kino released a DVD with a restored cut made from multiple prints that were remastered by the F.W. Murnau Foundation. I highly recommend this version not only for the quality of the print, but because special title cards have been inserted to help explain the gaps in the film. If you don’t plan on seeing this film any time soon, I suggest you wait until Kino releases the Blu-Ray Edition (hopefully this year). Last year about 25 minutes of “lost footage” was recovered and is currently being remastered for this edition. It will be the first time since 1927 that the footage is viewed by the public. With the promise of additional footage and better restoration technology, 82 years after its release Metropolis continues to get better with every viewing.

Metropolis is not only one of my favorite Sci-Fi films, it’s one of my favorites in general. I like to look at it from the filmmaking perspective and think “it’s good to know that a film like this can be made in any era” and I like to look at it from the human angle and think “I am so glad that we are nearing the time frame of this film and we haven’t proven our ancestors correct.” I felt this was an appropriate film to watch as we look forward into this New Year and all the promises it has. I hope that in 2009, we can all find the “mediator” in ourselves and let the “head and the hand”, as the film calls them, live in peace.